How ConnectPal, Others Giving Content Creators New Opportunities to Make Money

Since its introduction in 1989, the internet has ushered in a new digital age, a time when we are more interconnected than ever and endless information is available at our fingertips.

Touted as the information superhighway, the internet and the myriad of tools, apps and devices it has spawned has lived up to that title. And while we can’t deny the internet is the most important invention in the last 50 years, there are still plenty areas of the internet where it can and needs to be improved in order to better serve us all.

One of those areas is content monetization. The irony of the internet living up to the moniker information superhighway is a double edged sword.

On one hand, we now theoretically have access to every book or piece of literature ever written, as well as endless Google pages of facts, figures and content.

On the other hand, this essentially free, endless content has come at a cost both literally and figuratively to journalists, authors, artists, movie makers, videographers and others.

In many ways, the internet has been detrimental to content creators due to a lack of paywalls, monetization tools and services that allow creators to be properly reimbursed for existing content and able to make a living creating new digital and online content.

This lack of a pay structure has proven disastrous for the newspaper industry and even more so for independent and freelance content creators. However, thanks to tech innovators and the web savvy, in recent years there have been a number of tools introduced to help those who create monetize their work.

Google, a word and company that has almost become synonymous with the internet, has introduced AdWords and AdSense advertising programs where content creators can display ads on their websites and pages in order to help them earn a living. There are also digital tools where an artist or writer can elicit donations similar to crowdfunding and Victorian patronages.

In addition, there are job boards and directory sites, such as Freelancer, where independent creators can advertise or pick up work.

With that said, these tools don’t necessarily translate into revenue or jobs.

Understanding that a void left many content creators struggling to monetize their unique work, in 2014 ConnectPal, the world’s first digital content marketplace, was introduced. Based on a simple, user friendly format, ConnectPal allows users to build a profile similar to social media sites where they can upload and feature their work.

However, unlike social media sites, ConnectPal also allows its users to build a subscription paywall, where a monthly fee is established for their audiences to access their page and content.

ConnectPal is effective for two reasons: one, the website actually allows and provides tools for content monetization. Secondly, ConnectPal serves as a marketplace exposing users to more digital traffic and potential views than standalone web pages and scattered websites.

New opportunities provided by companies like ConnectPal are not only aiding in creating a fair payment solution for content creators, they are also raising the bar on the quality of content audiences can enjoy.

In another ironic twist, thanks to the abundance of content, there is also now a new renaissance of sorts where webmasters, website builders and other internet business leaders are calling on content creators to provide quality content, thus helping to even the digital ground.

“The constant demand for solid online content has generated a plethora of opportunities for creators,” wrote digital educator Kenneth Waldman. “But it’s not enough to produce the work, you need to know how to distribute, market and expose yourself and your talents to the online community if you want to make money.”

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